


Kabuto's Letter [Part 1]

by IrisClou



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gore, M/M, Mutual Pining, ON PLANET EARTH TO SHIP THESE TWO., WELCOME TO RAREPAIR HELL EVERYONE WHERE I AM LITERALLY THE ONLY HUMAN, i will literally draw you anything you want if you find me fic or art of this pair, no joke, orochimaru can eat shit he ruins everything, still fuckin love him tho. still like in my top five fave characters tho.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-04
Packaged: 2020-11-23 09:34:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 5,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20889944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IrisClou/pseuds/IrisClou
Summary: [This is an interlude piece for Non Playable Character, since it's much too long to put in as a single chapter, and deserves its own place.]Kabuto was always such a nice kid.So what the hell happened?What's stronger, your love for humanity, or your love for one person?What if you had to choose?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This was written first, but the final section takes place AFTER the final section of the second piece, because i didnt fuckin think Kabuto would have me so firmly by the balls to write ANOTHER fic about him
> 
> either way

Kabuto sat at his desk in his study, cheek propped up on his palm, staring down at his notes. He flicked his pen back and forth in his fingers, tapping it to the desk rhythmically. 

His eyes narrowed, the words in front of him blurring in and out of focus. With a throaty grumble, he took off his glasses, laying them to the side. Gloved fingers reached out to flick off the oil lamp, casting the room into a dull darkness.

The chuunin inhaled shakily and pushed back his chair, standing up and stretching with an indulgent sigh. Leaning over the table, he pulled back the curtains to the window right above it, then forced it open with a soft grunt, cursing himself for keeping it closed for so long. 

He used it more as a clock than anything. If the sun was rising or setting, it meant he had to get some rest. Rarely did he work during the hottest hours of the afternoon, however. That was usually the time for a tea break, to check on his cats and flowers. 

But now, Kabuto gazed out into the inky sky, showered in thousands of sparkling stars. 

Frowning, the man pushed his desk aside, something he  _ never  _ did, and stood at the windowsill, arms resting on it and leaning out. He took a deep breath and let his eyes wander lazily, before deciding to put his glasses back on. 

_ Had he been working too hard?  _ He wondered, rubbing circles into his temple with a finger.  _ Why couldn't he focus these days?  _

A lot had changed. In the past year, he found himself much more motivated, eager, his curious nature consuming him for the desperate need for answers. It all started when he was sent out to provide medical treatment to injured shinobi in the western forest. 


	2. The Man With Golden Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> KABUTO DOESNT DESERVE FUCKING ANYTHING BAD GOD IM SO MAD
> 
> this is the gory chapter just. heads up

** [R U N B O Y R U N](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bVTtNHdhg4) **

Their wounds had been bizarre, and almost all of them were inflicted with a mysterious toxin. 

Thankfully, one member of their squad had avoided this particular ailment, and happened to also be a medic. 

Kabuto could still see his piercing olive eyes in his dreams. He had silky, porcelain skin and the most beautiful long, black hair. The man eerily resembled a doll with a face like a Noh mask. 

His low, whispering voice haunted the young chuunin as well. 

But he had been kind. He had developed an antidote to the poison, and showed Kabuto how to heal the men. His knowledge of the human body, of herbs, of everything Kabuto had questions on...was astounding. The medical nin was blown away by how skilled this stranger was. 

It wasn't until a cry was heard, and the golden eyed man stood up, asking Kabuto to follow him to it, that the chuunin knew his life was about to change. 

They found a horribly disfigured shinobi, gasping out in pain, acid having eroded part of his face. 

Kabuto stepped back, heart clenching in icy terror. 

But the mysterious man continued to approach the agonized ninja. 

"Come closer…." The strange medic beckoned with hissing words. "Let me teach you the ultimate healing jutsu." 

Kabuto obeyed, and knelt beside him, stomach turning still at the sight, sound, and _ smell _ of the dying man. He had seen many terrible things, but this was unbearable. 

Shock drained the blood from his face as the black haired man's hand glowed jade, the chakra scalpel appearing. 

What could he be using that for? The man needed his skin healed, not--

Kabuto winced as the stranger carefully sliced off all of the burnt skin, peeling it away with his free hand, revealing the muscular layer. 

The screams grew earsplitting. 

The chuunin felt tears well in his eyes and his mouth fill with saliva, the pain almost psychosomatic. 

"S-stop! A-at least...end his misery if...or anesthetize…!!" He struggled hoarsely to yell above the din, but the stranger did not say anything. 

Kabuto's head spun as any damaged muscles were removed as well. The man had passed out from pain, but his body twitched, and his jaw was stretched taut in an everlasting shriek. 

The chuunin felt his skin suddenly burn and sweat, and he turned away, vomiting. 

He had seen cadavers dissected many times. He had even seen a vivisection once, though it was very localized to repair a damaged ligament of the foot. 

This...was a man's _ face. _

"Look." The honeyed voice inexplicably drew Kabuto's gaze back to the operation. 

The young chuunin gasped, watching as the stranger's hands seemed to make new muscle and skin, as if out of thin air. 

"H-how…?" He breathed. 

"There are many jutsus I can teach someone of your talent." The yellow eyes pierced his heart, and his pale hand shot out like a snake, grabbing Kabuto roughly by the wrist, yanking it towards the injured nin. 

"W-what..what are you d-doing?!" The chuunin yelped, the sensation of his chakra being siphoned from his core into his fingers scaring him. "L-let go!" He struggled to get away, heels kicking in the grass, but the hold was vice-like. He felt his bones shatter, and he let out a strangled cry. 

"Heal him." The man commanded, but Kabuto found himself without a choice as his chakra was forced from his hand. The man's face was reforming, but with a chilling horror, Kabuto saw his own hand turning a bluish-black.

It was..._ dying _. 

He screamed, and jerked back, terrified if he pulled too hard, it'd just break off like charcoal. 

At the last second, the man's face was healed, and the stranger released Kabuto's wrist, only to grab his neck instead. 

The chuunin choked, eyes rolling, legs kicking weakly as he felt the fingers tighten around his trachea. 

"Watch." 

Kabuto's lips spilled over with saliva as he was unable to swallow. 

The stranger held the chuunin's decaying hand in his free one. A green light enveloped it, and shuddering, Kabuto saw the flesh turn a healthy pink and translucent once more. 

Kabuto was dropped to the forest floor, foaming and coughing excessively. The cold hand pressed to his throat, and his strivings ceased. 

"The jutsu works by sacrificing living flesh to restore dead." A fanged grin gleamed on his pale lips. "If you have a dying teammate, and a heavily injured one...you can siphon the life giving chakra from one to the other." 

Kabuto stared at the man. 

"That way, the dying shinobi's life is not in vain. Waste not want not, isn't that a saying of we medics?" He hissed slowly. 

The chuunin still felt the urge to run. This...was a forbidden jutsu._ Chakra siphoning… _

"It can even be used to heal yourself." The stranger stood up. He glanced down at the motionless shinobi on the ground. 

"Y-you...you have to save him!" Kabuto pleaded, stumbling over on his hands and knees to try and help the man further, but upon tearing open his flak jacket, saw that his chest cavity was split open like a melon. 

The chuunin felt his arms go numb at the sight of the still pulsing heart in the open air, eyes rolling as his head fell backwards, consciousness rapidly slipping from him. 

The man had cured his face...knowing full well he was already dead.

The stranger grabbed Kabuto before he could pass out, hauling him upright and steadying him against his chest. 

The chuunin turned and vomited again, before hiding his face in the pale man's collar, dry heaving and unable to cry. 

"You are too kind for the likes of war." Kabuto felt cold hands slither up his back. "Don't you want to save everyone? Prevent them from being hurt in the first place? Maybe even bring back the dead?" The stranger's voice was low and almost _ seductive. _

"What if the one closest to you was killed...what lengths would you go to...to save them?" The hissing was in his ear now. No, not his ear. His _ brain _, like a weevil, crawling through the darkest crevasses to burrow into his inner thoughts. "Picture them." 

Kabuto closed his eyes, throat working as his stomach lurched. 

_ Mother...Izumo…. _

Their smiling faces came to him. The mere idea of them in such a state as that poor shinobi…

"Anything." He drooled, face streaming from his earlier bout of throwing up. 

"Good. You'll see me again. But you need to perfect this jutsu before you do." The stranger stepped back, stroking Kabuto's sullen cheeks. "If you can do that, I will teach you how to bring back the dead." 


	3. The Living and the Dead

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> listen i stan preshippuden kabuto like its going out of style
> 
> also i guess theres a bit of self harm in this chapter  
whoops  
and someone dies  
double whoops

[[IM ONLY JOKING | KONGO]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VICVEz4p-N8)

From then on, Kabuto tried to do everything he could to try and forget what he'd witnessed. He tried drinking, but all that did was make him sick and delirious. He quit that in a week. He wasn't about to try any drugs either. Hallucinogens were kept under lock and key at the hospital. He wasn't stupid enough to get caught stealing them. 

He could have _ made _his own, but…

What if...what if what the stranger was right? The jutsu was incredibly powerful. To be able to restore the life of say, the team captain, the escort...or an enemy nin who could reveal certain information…

Kabuto had seen so many children die at the orphanage, despite his mother's best efforts. Especially those brought in from destroyed villages. 

The man's hands clenched, head bowed, teeth grit. He slammed his fist into the windowsill, dragging it along the hard metal, wishing for it to tear open and release some of this inner pain. But…

Kabuto brought the bloody hand to his face. In the time he had lifted it, the cut had healed, leaving a white, scaly substance in its stead. It terrified him. 

He'd taken samples to observe under the microscope, but found something he wish he'd never seen. The scales were alive. Some sort of highly active cell structure, almost like a cancer, except these were stem cells, ready to grow, transform...do anything they needed. 

One night, the young man carved away at his hand, mad with fear, trying to cut the damn thing off, but no matter how many times he dug the kunai blade into his flesh, it healed as soon as he lifted it for another strike. 

The entire thick of his palm and his wrist were laced with shiny white scales. It was almost as if they..._ itched. _ It was driving him insane. 

He kept his right hand wrapped constantly now. 

Kabuto blinked rapidly, shaking his head, stumbling back against the desk and reaching behind him to hit the play button on his cassette player. 

_ "Hi, Kabuto! You'll never guess what I found…! Well, I mean, you will, once you open the package and...um, haha...if you're listening, then…" _

The chuunin instantly felt his body and mind relax at the chirping voice of a boy.

_ Izumo... _

He collapsed on the chair, hands over his face, back bowed forward, focusing only on breathing and the recording. 

_ "Anyway, this is much easier than writing you all the time, though maybe you'll miss all my drawings of Princess and the blackbird that made a nest in the gutter above my window…" _

A small smile made the corner of Kabuto's mouth twitch. 

_ "My birthday was last week. I can't believe it's been two years since I first came to Konoha and became a genin...I feel bad, knowing I'm gonna miss this year's chuunin exams...but...I think it was more important to make sure mom was okay on the farm. And we had so many lambs born already!" _

_ "*giggling* I even named one Kabuto. I think we're going to keep it as a ram, but even if we don't, I want him to be good friends with Princess. He's got a really pretty silvery-gray coat, and it reminded me of you. " _

Kabuto felt the smile widen, and he leaned back, pulling out his hair tie and brushing out his long silver hair with his fingers. 

The voice suddenly seemed to grow soft, and somber. 

The chuunin opened his eyes and stared at the cassette player, as if the spinning reels were the moving lips of the boy. 

_ "I miss you." _

Kabuto reached out to pause the tape, and rewound it for a second.

_ "I miss you." _

"I miss you, too." The young man murmured, dark eyes glazed over. 

He sighed, scooted the chair into the desk, closed his book, folded his arms and lay his head on them. Slowly, his eyelids drooped as he was lulled to sleep by the boy's voice. He felt safe, felt warm, felt...like he was _ home. _

As if he'd wake up to a small hand squeezing his shoulder and hushed snickering. 

Kabuto fell into a deep sleep, the cool fall air ruffling his hair, Izumo's stories easing him into rosy dreams. He barely twitched when the tape clicked to an end. 

\--

Kabuto couldn't remember crying harder than when he wore the tape out that winter. 

Only a week earlier he had found his mother bleeding out in the snow in the woods behind the orphanage. 

She had smiled up at him, as he held her so close, kissing frantically at her cheek, forehead to her neck, cursed hand pouring every last ounce of chakra he had into her severed chest. 

"The children...are safe…" She gurgled as the blood oozed from her overflowing lips. "Everything's...going to be...okay, darling." 

Kabuto knelt with her cold body held tightly to him in the frozen snow for hours. 

He couldn't stop crying. He tried to tell her everything. But he couldn't stop. At times, he'd wail like a child, his voice broken and high pitched. 

So caught up with his breathless bawling and overwhelming numbness, he didn't hear the crunch of ice as someone approached.

"I will teach you how to bring her back." 


	4. The Gift

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> izumos fuckin gay folks

Kabuto was certain, from that point on, he was truly in hell. He had only wanted to become like his mother. And now…his only solace from the forbidden experiments he'd been performing in his secret study...

The chuunin felt his body get up on its own, feet tracing the steps he took, sometimes twice a day, down to the post office. He checked his mail cubby in the apartment lobby at least five times a day. 

"Ah! Yakushi! Like clockwork, as usual." The clerk smiled at him. Kabuto returned the expression, eyes closing and head tilting sweetly. 

"This girlfriend of yours must be somethin' special, alright. For you to check twice a day, even when she hasn't sent anything in three months." The man chuckled, walking to the back to retrieve the mail. "I think we got something in, actually." 

Kabuto's heart leapt. He'd of course made up some stupid story about how he had a "long-distance" girlfriend, to get his friends and coworkers to shut up, and keep them from flirting with him. He'd realized years back, that anyone he'd tried to become intimate with was a bad decision. He only wanted the attention of one person now. 

"Yep, here it is. A box! Lucky you. I was certain you and her had gotten into a bad fight. Guess all's well that ends well!" The clerk handed him a decent sized package, the likes to rival one of the medic nin's textbooks. 

Kabuto had to refrain from grabbing it and bolting. He laughed airily and shrugged. 

"Guess so, sir. Thank you." 

"Let me know what's in it, okay?' The clerk laughed and gave him a sly wink. 

Kabuto felt his cheeks suddenly flush, and made a nervous noise, lips pulled back in a weak grin. 

"Ahah...s-sure." 

\--

It was early March. That meant it was Izumo's fifteenth birthday. 

Kabuto locked the door behind him, leaning up against it and slowly sliding down with a sigh. He couldn't bear to wait another second, and pulled out his kunai to slit the thick tape that sealed the cardboard box. 

It had tons of drawings all over it, little sheep and big sheep, some with cartoonish cuteness and others with an amazingly professional amount of detail. There were a few birds and flowers as well. Doves and lilies. His favorite. 

He took his time tracing his thumbs over the ink, fingers trembling. 

Once Kabuto had calmed himself, he peeled back the flaps, face lighting up like the sun as he pulled out trinkets and letters...all sorts of things. 

A spool of Princess's wool. 

_ "I'll make you a medicine pouch out of this -- promise!"  _

A wooden jewelry box full of drawings and notes. 

_ "I'm nowhere near as good as you, but we can draw together when I get back!"  _

Dried flowers and herbs in a pretty little silk satchel. 

_ "Make some tea out of this! Mom helped me choose ones she said would help relax you when you have to study or sleep."  _

Kabuto held the pouch to his face, inhaling deeply the scent, mind working to place every ingredient so he could think of Izumo's smiling face when he came across them in his medicine making. 

Feathers. Pretty geodes. Sealed milk -- so it wouldn't spoil. Cheese, yogurt, honey-butter… fruit and nut bread, vegetables and jam...even things like jerky and homemade taffy all had a preservation seal placed on them and wrapped in a checkered cloth so they'd keep. 

_ "Please take care of yourself until I get back! Don't skip meals just because you're busy! And yes,  _ I  _ made all of this -- not Mom!  _

Kabuto felt his stomach clench, and his eyes water. 

He hadn't sent a single letter he'd written, except one, that said _ : "I'm sorry if my replies are slow. I promise, I read every letter you send, sometimes even twice, haha! Things are extremely busy here. Please take care, and keep me updated."  _

The chuunin's entire desk drawer was filled to the brim with unfinished letters and hastily wrapped gifts. He just...never had the nerve to send them. 

Eagerly, Kabuto unsealed the food, and took out the tomato, shining it on his shirt for a moment before biting into it. He didn't realize how  _ hungry  _ he'd been until he began to eat. He had lost so much weight over the past year, what with the stress of work and his growing anxiety of his cursed hand. 

It was delicious, and he couldn't help but slice some of the bread, buttering it before eating it. He groaned with contentment, the flavors melting in his mouth. 

For a split second, he heard one of his friend's voices in his head. 

_ "You gonna die a virgin, Yakushi? What do you want out of a wife? A good cook?"  _

Kabuto swallowed hard, coughing into his elbow a bit. 

Then, finally, the letter. 

_ Dear Kabuto --  _

_ I know I sound stuffy writing it like that every time, but any time I try and change it, it doesn't...feel right.  _

_ So I guess I'll keep it that way for a while.  _

_ First off...Mom is feeling much better. The doctors say she's made a full recovery. The farm is doing so well, and...it's lambing season again! Kabuto (your sheep counterpart haha) has gotten so big. We did wind up castrating him, (ouch! Sorry!) but I think he's so much happier that way. It means he can spend as much time as he wants with anyone he wants. (Though he's kinda stupid since we waited a little too long and now he keeps trying to mount some of the ewes. They don't care, though, and he just runs off to do whatever.) _

Kabuto snorted to himself at the mental image of his ovian namesake getting into trouble with "the girls" as Izumo liked to call them. Very unlike the human Kabuto, who avoided available women like the plague. 

_ There are so many lambs this year, I had to have Kotetsu help. Of course he just made dirty jokes and talked about Anko. I'm sick of it. I just want to come back and see you all again, and not have to hear him complain about not going on missions and not having a girlfriend.  _

_ Like Anko'd want to be with him anyway -- ha!  _

Anko...that was the girl trained by Orochimaru-sensei. She was... _ odd. _ A little... _ unpleasant _ , but nothing he wouldn't be polite to. She did have a cute face. 

_ I don't really...think I want a girlfriend, to be honest. We went to a few livestock auctions, and I had a lot of girls crowd around me ask me who I was...guess I've changed a lot in the past year and a half! The attention was nice, and some of them were really pretty, and I liked making them laugh, but… _

Kabuto felt himself frown. 

_ I get the feeling...the person I'm meant to be with isn't here in the country. And…I've already told you that...I like boys, too. Maybe more than girls. I hope you don't think I'm gross for that. Sister always said that it didn't matter who I loved, so long as they were kind and honorable.  _

_ Sister… _

Kabuto felt his heart ache.  _ Mother.  _

_ I keep thinking about...three winters ago. When...when Kotetsu...and you saved me. Or at least stopped him from… _

There was a sizeable space between the paragraphs. 

_ We're all good now. We cuddle a lot, and talk about our feelings way more. I had a really bad Fall. Until recently. I got super sick for a while and...well, depressed. I was scared I didn't have a place I belonged.  _

_ But...then I thought about you. _

_ I thought about how good it felt to be… _

_ With you.  _

There were tiny tickmarks, proof Izumo had tapped his pen against the paper just like Kabuto's habit. 

The chuunin's heart throbbed once. 

_ I miss it. I miss it a lot. I miss you a lot.  _

_ Sensei told us never to use our…. _

_ I need to confess something _

Kabuto felt his hands grow clammy. Part of him laughed anxiously at how stream-of-consciousness Izumo was, and the other...his heart was pounding so hard it almost  _ hurt.  _

_ I made one look like you. I just...I was so fucking sad. Lonely. I know I shouldn't have. Some things...Kotetsu can't...fix. Does that make sense? His arms...don't feel like yours. He snores. You don't. Haha _

Kabuto's cheeks flushed, but he couldn't look away. Why was he feeling this way? Izumo was like a baby brother to him. But he could almost hear his voice -- a little lower now, in the back of his head. 

_ Um. I don't know what else to say about that.  _

_ I think I like boys.  _

_ I really wanted to say more, but now I don't...I'm excited for the chuunin exams and ...hang on. _

_ Haha, oh wow. I'm so stupid. I started thinking about you that I forgot to write about the most important thing.  _

_ I'm coming back in April! One month! Dad said we can leave to participate in the chuunin exams. I'm so excited. I wanna see what I look like in the uniform. I wish you'd wear it more often. I think it looks good on you.  _

_ I hope Konoha hasn't changed. I hope  _ you  _ haven't changed.  _

_ Jeez I keep … going back to you. Sorry. I used to have a picture of you in a little frame by my bedside, along with the family and my team. Kotetsu started calling me gay and teasing me, and while...it doesn't really bother me, it got annoying, so I just...keep the picture with me in my id holder.  _

Kabuto shook his head. He had the same thing. A picture of Kotetsu and Izumo when they made genin together, grinning and giving the peace sign, wearing their headbands with pride, tucked safely away behind the metal plate of his own forehead protector. 

_ Okay, maybe that is a little gay. Haha _

_ Anyway, um, I hope you're not too busy to at least come see me during the exams. I think I'd do even better with you watching.  _

_ Sorry. Sorry sorry! I...I can't stop thinking about you nowadays. I've been studying my ass off these past few months. I have all your notes, but...they're a little faded. You'll have to make me new ones, okay? I think I want to become a medical nin like you.  _

Kabuto's shoulders slumped, his brow turning upwards. Such a good kid. 

__I guess I should talk about Kotetsu, cuz y'know, he's my brother n' all. I stopped really caring about that, y'know.   
If people think we're brothers…I've stopped correcting them.   
It's not like we do much anymore. I mean, yknow, besides the cuddling.   
Sometimes we fool around but...it's just comforting. You already know, I told you like a hundred times haha

_ He's doing good. He's changed a bit. I think we both have. We still spend time with each other, but...I don't feel scared when we're apart. Sometimes I prefer it. I don't...really want things to change. It's kinda…weird. Makes me uneasy. But...I like how I've changed. I've learned a lot, and I'm way better with talking to people. And girls. Kinda.  _

_ I stopped getting mistaken for one finally. Guess I look a little different now that I'm older haha. Oh well. I don't care how people see me, just how my friends see me.  _

_ Um...everyone's doing well, I...can't think of much else. I just want… _

Kabuto blinked, a smile springing to his lips as there was a scribbly doodle of two sheep, one with wool pulled over its right eye, and the other smiling and wearing glasses, standing side by side.

_ Oh, Izumo. _ Kabuto chuckled inwardly. He was never as subtle as he wanted to be. 

_ Okay, okay, this is already like...the back of the second page. I should stop now. I just dont know how to end this stupid thing.  _

_ I hope _

_ I hope you're doing okay.  _

_ I worry. A lot, kinda.  _

_ I wanna give you something.  _

_ But I can't unless it's in person.  _

_ I miss you Kabuto _

The chuunin squinted. The paper seemed warped in some areas. Like it had gotten... _ wet.  _

_ Had Izumo...been crying?!  _

Kabuto watched his glasses fog up as his own eyes misted over. 

_ Kotetsus here _

_ Gotta go or hell tease me again _

_ Um thank you for everything i miss you please write back if you can sorry i sound stupid and desperate  _

_ Love ,  _

_ Izumo _

And, the signature little sheep face with a crown, symbolizing Princess. 

_ Love?  _

Kabuto frowned. Izumo never...signed off like that. Did he? 

_ Ps i wanna show you the farm so like take a vacation sometime okay dummy i think youd like the sheep  _

The chuunin folded up the letter, taking in the neat print until it faded into hasty scrawl at the end. He stood up, swallowing around the lump in his throat. 

He went to his desk, and opened one of the drawers, and a file folder where he kept every letter Izumo had sent, organized by date. He took out a few random ones, checking the signature. 

  
  


_ See ya soon (i hope)  _

_ Izumo _

_ Stay safe _

_ Izumo _

_ I miss you _

_ Izumo _

No. None of them...but…

Kabuto walked back over to the box, and made to put everything away properly. 

Something fluttered down. 

It was a photograph! 

The chuunin quickly grabbed it, and held it up to look at in the early spring sunlight. 

His dark eyes widened. 

Was that...really Izumo? He looked...so much older now, so  _ different.  _ He was smiling brightly with a baby lamb in his arms. 

Kabuto felt his chest grow light, and his heart shiver. 

He glanced away, knowing that the emotions he was feeling were altered due to distance and time. But he let himself indulge in the warmth for a few minutes, photo held in trembling fingers. 

Quietly, he looked around, and sighed. He would take his time going through the rest of the box later. Give himself something to look forward to after he was done with his evening shift at the hospital. 


	5. The Reply

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMGAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY

_ Dear Izumo, _

_ I wish I could tell you how many letters I have stuffed in my stupid desk, that I've meant to send. Maybe I'll finally send this one.  _

_ I'm happy your family is well. I'm happy lambing season has gone well. And, of course...happy birthday!  _

_ Things are still busy here. But, by the time you come back, I'll be on hiatus.  _

_ I miss you too. I think about you when I'm having a rough day, and it cheers me up. Which, unfortunately, is a lot when you work twelve hour shifts haha. Wouldn't trade it for anything.  _

_ Okay, maybe for a good night's sleep.  _

_ Good to know my sheep counterpart thinks he's getting some action. I don't remember the last time I had a girl look at me for anything more than a patient's checklist. Not that I really mind.  _

_ I feel like I'm rambling and I hate when I do that. I'm sure you'll do great at the exams. Especially if you've been training hard as you say. I'll make sure to take off those days to come see you.  _

_ My door is always open for you, Izumo.  _

_ I'm here for you whenever you need help.  _

_ Or, if Kotetsu's snoring in your ear, a place to sleep haha.  _

Kabuto stared at that line. In a wave of rare impulsiveness, he kept it, against his better judgement. 

_ Thank you for everything. It means more than you know. I can't express my gratitude in just words, so I'll tell you in person. I'll make sure everything goes to good use. I already put the photograph in my ID card.  _

_ Stay safe _

_ Love _

_ Kabuto _

And a doodle of a sheep wearing big, round glasses at the end, along with some clovers. 

Before he could change his mind, he got up from his desk, hastily folded up the letter, stuffed it in the envelope with dried lavender, and licked the seal shut. He scribbled down the addresses, and threw on his jacket before grabbing his keys and walking out of his apartment, locking up. 

He  _ jogged  _ to the post office, catching the looks of many other people as he dashed down the road, knees weak, feet unsteady. 

It wasn't until he shakily handed in the letter that he felt the nausea catch up with him. 

"How...long...will it take?' He panted. 

The clerk frowned. 

" _ That's _ why she hasn't written in a while. You haven't been replying, have you?" 

Kabuto felt his eyes well with tears. 

"I...I'm so sorry, please just...tell me how long…"

"Well, it looks like it's out of town, so…" The man pursed his lips. "About a week. Maybe two at the most." 

A week? Thank God. April wasn't for another three weeks. 

"Thank you. Is there any way I...can tell if it's been delivered?" 

The clerk blinked.

"Well, we can send it by hawk, if necessary. It's usually reserved for mission messages and not civilian --"

"How much." Kabuto was already pulling out his wallet. 

"Uh, e-excuse...me?" The man looked taken aback. 

"How much for a hawk?" 

"We...well, I.." 

"Listen. Here's ten-thousand ryo. Please, just make sure it gets to him." Kabuto didn't even notice the slip up, and left the money on the counter, walking out before the man could try and correct him. 


	6. Requited

Three days later, Kabuto was sitting out in the courtyard of the hospital on break, drinking a cup of tea he brewed that morning using some of the herbs Izumo had sent him. 

A shadow briefly obscured the sun, and he looked up, seeing a hawk with a message tube on its leg. 

It alighted on his outstretched bandaged arm. 

He slipped the bottle from the tube. 

_ Dear Kabuto _

_ Thank you.  _

_ I can't wait to see you.  _

_ Stay safe. _

_ Love Izumo  _

He swallowed thickly. It had been written hastily, but there was still a cotton ball of a sheep doodle in the signature. 

Izumo must not have been able to afford the cost of sending the hawk back, so he must have captured the bird long enough to scribble a letter and slip it into the bottle before releasing it. 

Hawks would continuously go between the same two messengers until they were released without a letter, in which they would return to the aviary. 

Kabuto sent the raptor off to its nesting box for some well earned rest. The letter shook in his hands. 

He stood up, read all thirteen words again and again before folding the note up and slipping it into his zipper pocket on his scrubs. That way, he couldn't lose it. 

Kabuto had never slept so soundly in his life until that night. So soundly, in fact, that he overslept. 


	7. Catch Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is like. a few days after Izumo makes Chuunin

"Did you...want to play catch up?" Kabuto murmured, eyes glancing down at Izumo's curled fingers between them as they shared a wooden bench by the pond. 

The fingers inched closer, and closer, until they shyly slid beneath the medical nin's. 

"...Is your door still...open?" Izumo whispered, staring at the moon's reflection in the water as sakura blossoms scattered the crystal surface. "...Even if it's nighttime...I...want to give you...that gift...in...in private." 

Kabuto blinked, then smiled sweetly, hand tenderly closing around his old friend's. 

"I gave you the key just a few days ago, didn't I?" The chuunin chuckled softly, but tilted his head with a wink. "Isn't that answer enough?" 

Izumo's cheeks flushed bright pink, and he turned away, nodding. 

"L-let's go, then." He made to stand up, but Kabuto helped him to his feet, leading him by the hand. 

The silver haired shinobi's dark eyes glowed warm in the dead of night. 

"You ask silly questions for someone who's carrying their overnight bag with them." Kabuto teased gently. 

"..." Izumo stiffened, pouting as his face burned. "C-c'mon, Kabuto...take me home."

"Gladly." His friend smiled lovingly, puffing a laugh as Izumo leaned into him as they walked, arm wrapped around his own. 


End file.
